1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to enclosures for computing devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to door mechanisms that allow a door to open and close relative to the enclosures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems such as general purpose computers typically include housings for enclosing various components and circuitry associated with operating the general purpose computers. The housings generally serve to shield and protect the components and circuitry from adverse conditions such as impact and dust. The housings also generally serve to define the shape or form of the general purpose computers. In most cases, the housings take the form of a box, as for example, the housings associated with tower style computers. This however can be discouraging to users who desire housings that are more unique and take up less space.
The housings themselves typically include openings that provide access to the internal components enclosed therein. For example, the openings may provide access to disk drives, memory boards, connectors, ports, etc. The housings may also include doors for preventing or allowing access through the openings. The doors are generally movable between an open and closed position. When closed, the doors cover the openings in order to protect the internal components. When opened, the doors are placed away from the openings in order to allow access therethrough.
With regards to optical disk drives (CD, DVD, etc.), the door is typically attached to a sliding tray that holds a disk and that moves in and out of the housing through the opening. When the tray is located outside of the housing, the disk may be inserted or removed from the tray. When the tray is located inside the housing, the disk may be processed by the general purpose computer, i.e., data may be retrieved or stored to and from the disk. The door generally abuts the housing when in the closed position. Unfortunately, however, substantial cracks may exist between the mating surfaces of the door and the housing because of stacking tolerances, i.e., the door may be misaligned with the opening during manufacture of the general purpose computer. The cracks may expose the internal components to unwanted materials, e.g., dust particles, or moisture. The cracks may also be unpleasing to the eye (e.g., makes the housing look cheap).
The door may also be rotationally coupled to the housing via hinges. When using hinges, the sliding tray of the optical disk drive generally pushes on the inner portion of the door in order to open the door and allow the tray to extend outside the housing. In some cases, the hinges are “external” hinges that are at least partially located outside of the profile of the housing. External hinges effectively place the axis of rotation of door outside of the profile, or outline, of the housing regardless of whether door is in an open position or a closed position. Unfortunately, however, external hinges increase the overall thickness of the general purpose computer, and are often considered to be aesthetically non-pleasing since they protrude from the housing.
In other cases, the hinges may be “internal” hinges that are at least partially located inside the profile of the housing. Internal hinges effectively place the axis of rotation of door inside the profile of the housing. The use of internal hinges enables door to open out from housing, and typically does not affect the thickness of the general purpose computer, i.e., internal hinges generally do not increase the profile of housing. The placement of internal hinges within the profile of the housing generally requires the presence of relatively significant gaps between the door and the opening. The gaps enable the door to rotate with respect to the internal hinges. While internal hinges generally have no affect on the profile of the housing, the presence of gaps is often undesirable due at least in part to the fact that they may expose the internal components to unwanted materials, e.g., dust particles, or moisture. Additionally, the gaps may be unpleasing to the eye (e.g., makes the housing look cheap).
Recently, the optical disk door has been configured to move relative to the hinge in order to overcome some of the problems associated with gaps formed between the door and the housing, i.e., the movement allows the position of the door to adjust to the position of the opening in the housing. By way of example, the G4 Tower, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif., has included such a door mechanism. In this particular implementation, a planar door is allowed to move with one degree of freedom relative to a hinge, which pivotally couples the planar door to a planar portion of a housing. In particular, the planar door is allowed to rotate about a single axis so as to allow the planar door to conform to the opening of the planar housing in one direction. Unfortunately, however, one degree of freedom does not necessarily produce the desired effect, i.e., it does not always eliminate gaps between the door and the housing. As should be appreciated, the door and housing are defined by more than one dimension and thus one degree of freedom cannot correct for gaps formed in multiple directions. This is especially true for complicated designs that include doors and housings formed by three dimensions (e.g., x, y and z).
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view diagram of a door mechanism 1 used in the G4 Tower. The door mechanism 1 includes a door frame 2, a hinge member 3 and a door 4. The door frame 2, which includes an opening 5, is configured to be attached to the housing of the G4 Tower. The hinge member 3 is pivotally attached to the door frame 2 via a pivot pin 6 and mounts 7. The door 4 is movably coupled to the hinge member 3 via a flexure 8 disposed on the hinge member 3 and slot 9 disposed on the back of the door 4, i.e., the flexure 8 is inserted into the slot 9. The hinge member 3 also includes a pair of guides 10 that receive bosses 11 located on the door 4. The bosses 11 help to keep the door 4 on the flexure 8. The bosses 11 also constrain the movement of the door 4 to limited rotation about the z axis in the x and y plane, and the flexure 8 provides a biasing force to stabilize the movement. As should be appreciated, the bosses 8 and guides 10 are closely dimensioned thereby preventing movement in the x and z directions.
Thus, there is a need for improved approaches for accessing internal components of computing devices. Moreover, there is a need for improved approaches that allow a door to open and close without producing substantial cracks or gaps between the door and the housing.